Timer mechanism



. p 15, 1942; G. c. FIELDS 2,296,233

TIMER MECHANISM Filed May 9, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. 6507955 CF'IEAZZT Sept. 15, 1942. G. c. FIELDS 2,296,233

' TIMER MECHANISM Filed May 9, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. GEORGE C.F'IEZDS BY Y Jud/ m z: Arf zeA/E p G. c. FIELDS 2,296,233 I TIMERMECHANISM I Filed May 9, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 6507865 C FIELDS PatentedSept. 1 5, I 942 uNrrEp STATES PATENT OFFICE TIMER MECHANISM George 0.Fields, Euclid, Ohio, assignorto The Apex Electrical ManufacturingCleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Company,

Application May 9, 1941, Serial No. 392,122 Claims. ((31.192-139) Thisinvention relates to a timer mechanism timer mechanism which is adaptedto be driven by an eccentric on'an oscillating agitator shaft andwherein a pair of co-axially arranged fast and slow ratchets areprogressively advanced during the period of agitator oscillation so asto operate a clutch associated with the agitator drive mechanism.

i It is a further object of my invention to provide a timerv mechanismmade according to the preceding objects in which the ratchets and a cammoved thereby are'mounted on a single shaft so that the timer may bereset and advanced through its cycle of operation by manually advancingsaid shaft.

Further objects and advantages relating to dependability in operation,simplicity in conporting and housing the gears and linkage fortransmitting movement from the driving shaft 8 to the oscillatingagitator shaft 9 and to the continuously rotating wringer shaft II).

The shaft 8 may be continuously rotated by an electric motor, gasolineengine or other power unit. Rotating motion of the shaft 8 istransmitted to a main driving gear Ii which is a composite gear andtransmits its movement to idler gear [2 and gear l3 fixed to the wringerdrive shaft it. An eccentric member l4 may be clutched to the gear il soas to rotate therewith and oscillate the agitator shaft 9 as shown anddescribed in said Wied patent. The engagement and disengagement betweenthe eccentric l4 and the gear II is effected by moving the clutchplunger i6 to and from a recess in the gear ii by means of aelutchoperating shaft I1 and its associated operating arm 18. The clutch shafti1 is urged to turn the clutch arts in the direction of the arrow I9 bymeans of the tension spring 2i! which is secured at one end to the plate18 and at the'other end to the gear case so as to tend to turn theclutch operating link 16 extending to the timer in the direction of thearrow 2|.

The timer mechanism in its entirety is indicated as at 22 and comprisesa pair of ratchets struction and low cost of manufacture will appearfrom the following description and the appended drawings, wherein Figure1 is a perspective view of a timer made according to my, invention,assembled with a washing machine drive mechanism;

Figure 2- is a plan view .of the timer and associated agitator driveparts; c

Figure 3 is an elevation with parts in section taken as indicated inlines 3-3 of Figure 2;

the type wherein the drive to the oscillating agitatort may beinterrupted without interrupting the drive to the wringe'r, such as forinstance, the mechanism disclosed in the patent to Wied 2,237,919. l

It will be appreciated, however, as the description proceeds that mytimer mechanism may be employed in other types of washing machinevdrivemechanismsand inother types of machinery.

Referring its entirety as at 6, the gear case thereof suptolthe'drawings, the driving mechanism for the washing machine is indicated in60 the operating parts.

adapted to be advanced by means of a pawl carriage oscillated by the arm23. An arm 23 is pivotally supported as at .24 on the gear case and oneend thereof as at 25 bears against an eccentric 26 secured to theagitator shaft 9. The other end of the oscillating arm 23 is providedwith a link 21 operatively connected to the driving pawl'for the timer.The main shaft 30 of the timer is provided with a universal joint 3|connecting the shaft 30 to an operating shaft 32. The arrangement lastdescribed is such that the shaft 32 may project beyond the outline ofthe washing machine where it may be manually turned so as to advance thetimer junction with a washing machine mechanism of shaft 30 though itscycle of operation and thus the clutch shaft l1 may be manually operatedthrough the timer mechanism by the shaft 32.

Preferably the timer is mounted on the exterior of the gear case 1 bymeans of bolts such as 35 extending'd'ownwardly through the mainsupportingplate 36 of the timer. The main supporting plate.36 carries asub-frame 31 which is secured to the plate 36 by a'bolt 38 and a bolt39,

v the bolt 39 being arranged to project downwardly through a slot 40inthe supporting plate 36 so .thatthe entire timer unit may be adjusted onvthe supporting plate by loosening the bolt 39 and swinging the timer asa unit about the bolt 38, as permitted by the slot 40. Thisadjustmentprovides for variations in manufacture and facilitates the correctalignment and arrangement "of The sub-frame 31 includes an upturned ear4| and is secured to a similar extension on the mem-- ber 43 by means ofa bolt and nut fastener 41.

, A depending ear 48 of the plate 45 is arranged in alignment with thedepending ear 44 of the sub-frame and in alignment with a depending ear49 of the plate 43 and said ears are secured in such aligned positionsby means of the bolt'and nut fastening 50. Said last-named fastener andthe aligned ears of the bearing plate also serve to support a keeperpawl assembly on the lower part of the timer mechanism.

A driving pawl assembly or carriage is pivotally mounted on the mainshaft 30 and said assembly comprises a pair of spaced links 52 and 53which are freely mounted for rocking movement on the main shaft 30 andare secured to each other at their upper ends by means of the bolt andnut fastener 54. A sleeve 55 is mounted on the fas tener 54 and servesas a bearing support for a pair of driving pawls 51 and 58, which pawlsare adapted to engage a slow-moving ratchet 58 and a fast-moving ratchet60.

The pawls are normally urged about theirpivotal mounting on sleeve 55 inthe direction of the ratchets by springs 5| and 62 and upon each reciprocation of the driving pawl assembly, the pawl 58 engages a tooth inthe fast moving ratchet 50 so as to advance said ratchet one tooth. A

hold-out cam 54 is arranged alongside of the ratchet disc 50 and isoperatively connected thereto by pin 55 so as to rotate therewith. Thewidth of the pawl 51 is such that it overlaps a portion of the hold-outcam as well as a portion of the slow-moving ratchet disc 59, and thusthe hold-out cam prevents the pawl 51 from advancing the slow-movingratchet disc 59 upon each reciprocation of the driving pawl assembly.When, however, notch 64a of the holdoutcam 64 is brought into position,beneath the pawl 51, said pawl will be lowered so as to engage a toothof the slow-moving ratchet disc. Thusthe slowmoving ratchet disc 59 willbe advanced one tooth in response to a complete revolution of thefastmoving ratchet disc and its associated hold-out cam 64.

In the embodiment illustrated, there are 40 teeth on each of theratchets and thus the slowmoving ratchet advances one tooth each timethe fast-moving ratchet advances 40 teeth. Ordinarily it is desired tooscillate the agitator shaft about 60 times per minute for efflcientwashing of the clothes and thus the 40 to 1 ratio between shaft 9 andslow moving ratchet provides a convenient angular movement in theoperating and resetting parts of the timer.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that he number ofteeth on the ratchet discs and the ratio between the ratchet discs maybe varied within relatively wide limits.

As shown in Figures 4 to 'l, the main shaft 30 of the timer is flattenedfor a portion of its length and the slow-moving ratchet disc 59 isprovided with a central aperture fitting the flattened portion of theshaft 30 so that the advancing movement of the slow-moving disc willadvance the ashaft 30 therewith. 1

20- the rivet 46.

50 14a and 140.

The advancing movement'of the shaft 30 in re sponse to movement of theslow-moving ratchet disc is transmitted through a cam and latch ar- Irangement so as to effect a movement of the clutch shaft 30. Anoperating link 10 is secured to the plate l8 which is fastened to theclutch shaft l1 and said link 10 is normally urged in the direction ofarrow 2|. The tendency of the member 10 to move in said direction is inturn transl0' mitted to a lever 1| which is fulcrumed on the shoulder 12of the bolt 50.

The lever 1| is shaped as best illustrated in Fig. 4 andis slotted as at1|a so that it may be rocked about its pivotal mounting on bolt 50. An

' integrally formed ear 13 on the lever 1| projects laterally from thelever so as to overhang both the operating cam 14 and the spring-pressedlatch 15, which latch is urged in a clockwise d1- rectionby the coilspring 460. which surrounds The arrangement just described being suchthat when the cam 14 is turned in a clockwise direction (Fig. 4) the ear13 and the lever 1| are carried to the position shown in Fig. 4, whereinthe ear is latched in the position shown. This may be referred to as theon" position of the main clutch in the agitator drive mechanism,inasmuch as the clutch member I6 is then positioned in the notch on gearso as to oscillate the agitator shaft 9.

3c The cam 14 is provided on its periphery with shown in Fig. 4 as beingin the on position and is advancing clockwise without effecting anychange in the latched position of the lever 1|. When, however, the camhas advanced approximately 90 from the position shown in Fig. 4, a lug16 on the cam will be brought to bear against the portion 11 of thelatch 15. Further advance of the cam and its lug 15 will rock the latch"15 downwardly so that the lever 1| may swing in a counter-clockwisedirection about its pivot in response to the spring tension imposed onthe lever 1| through the medium of the link 10. The ear 13 is thus freeto move into the ofi:" portion of the cam 14; that is, into .the openspace of the cam between point The last described movement of the lever1| and the link 10 rocks the clutch shaft I1 into off position so as tointerrupt .the drive to the agitator shaft.

When it is desired to start the agitator through a new cycle of washingoperation, the shaft 30 is manually advanced so as to bring the resetportion of the cam 14c14b around to bear against the ear 13. The resetportion of the cam is the high point of the cam surface and rocks thelever 1| to an on position as shown in Fig. 4. The lug 16 on the camplate is moved free of the latch portion 11 as the reset portion of thecam rocks the lever 1| clockwise and the latch 15 moves upwardly so asto catch and hold the ear 13 in its on" position.

It will be understood that the shaft 32 which is coupled to the shaft 30of the timer projects beyond the washing machine supporting structureand that said shaft and the tub supporting structure may carryappropriate indicia showhave found that the on portion of the cam;

that is. the portion from m to us my maintain the clutch in an onposition for about fifteen minutes and thus the indicia on the exteriorof the washing machine would be marked to show that the full operatingcycle would occupy fifteen minutes of agitator operation. To operatesired by the operator of the machine.

Each of the ratchet discs 59-50 is provided with a spring-pressedholding pawl to prevent a counter-clockwise movement of the ratchetdiscs, as the driving pawl assembly swings through the counter-clockwisephase of its operating stroke. The holding pawl'80 being arranged asshown in Fig. 5, to prevent counter-clockwise movement of the ratchetdisc 60, and the holding pawl 8| being arranged as shown in Fig. 7 torestrain counter-clockwise movement of the ratchet disc 60, the twoholding pawls are pivotally mounted on the sleeve surrounding the bolt50 and the pawl 8| is proportioned to overlap both the ratchet disc 50and a hold-out cam 82 which is apertured so as to be fixed to turn withthe shaft 30.

The hold-out cam 82 is shaped as shown best in Fig. '7 and is fixed tothe shaft 30 so that the high portion of the hold-out cam rocks theholding pawl 8| out of engagement with the ratchet 50 when the resetportion of the cam 14 is in engagement with the ear 13 on the lever 1|.Thus the hold-out cam frees the shaft 30 and the entire assemblage ofparts fixed thereto so that the shaft 30 may turn in a counter-clockwisedirection in the event that the lever II is not moved to its fullylatched position as shown in Fig. 4. The hold-out cam in the abovedescribed manner guards against the operator in advertently turning thelever H to a partly clutched position; that is, where the clutch shaftll effects only a partial engagement of the main clutch for the agitatordrive. As soon as the hold-out cam 82 frees the ratchet assembly forcounter-clockwise movement, the tension pring 20 is effective throughthe lever 'II to rotate the cam 14 counter-clockwise and position theparts in a fully off position.

A spacer plate BI is arranged between the disc 64 and the ratchet disc59. A depending portion of the disc 84 is provided with a slot toembrace the fastener 50 so as to maintain the member 84 non-rotatable.The provision of the member 84 prevents the movement of the fastmovingratchet 60 and its associated member 64 from being transmitted byfriction to the slowmoving ratchet 59. A similarly shaped disc 85 isarranged between the hold-out cam 82 and the arm 52 of the oscillatingdriving pawl assembly so that theoscillating movement of the drivingpawl assembly will not be transmitted by friction to the hold-out cam 82which is fixed to the shaft 30.

Referring generally t the timer and its associated washing machine drivemechanism, it will be assumed that the clutch shaft I1 is in an offposition and the agitator shaft 9 is not turning. The cam 14 will thenbe advanced substantially 90 from the position shown inFi .'4 and thelever II will bemoved countereclockwise so that the car 13 is disposedat the "off portion of the cam 14. When it is desired to start theagitator through its washing cycle, the shaft 32 is manually turnedgsoas to move shaft 30 in a clockwise direction so as to advance the cam I4against the ear 13 through the reset portion of the cam Mb-14c. Themovement of lever ll imparted thereto by cam 14 throws the clutchshaftII to its "on" position. The latch 15 thereupon engages'the ear 13 soas'to maintain the lever H and the shaft H in its "011 position. Theshaft 30 may be further manually advanced to a. position such as shownin Fig. 4 where about seven and one-half minutes of movement'remains onthe portion of the cam 14 between Ma y and 14b. The oscillation of theagitatorshaft 9 is effective to rock the lever 23 and its related link21 so as to oscillate the driving pawl assembly. The driving pawl 58advances the fast-moving ratchet disc 60 one tooth upon each oscillationof the driving pawl assembly. Upon each complete revolution of thefast-moving ratchet disc 60, the ratchet disc 50 is advancedone tooth.The ratchet disc 59 being fixed to the shaft 30 advances the cam 14 alike amount. After about seven and one-half minutes operation of theagitator, the cam 14 has advanced to the position shown in Fig. 1,wherein the lug 15 is about to move the latch 15 away from the car 13.As soon as the ear I3 is free of the latch 15, the lever II will swingabout its pivot 50 as permitted by the slot 13 and thus move the clutchshaft H to an off position and terminate the operating cycle.

Although I have illustrated and described one form of my invention inconsiderable detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat numerous variations may be made therein such as for instancevariations in the contour of the operating cam, in the arrangement ofthe pawls, ratchets and operating linkages connected therewith, withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as defined in the followingclaims.

I claim:

1. A timer of the type controlling the period of operation of a. drivenshaft comprising a gear case for supporting said shaft, a clutch controladapted to be moved so as to interrupt the drive to said driven shaft,an eccentric turned by said driven shaft, a timer shaft, a plurality ofratchet discs mounted on said timer shaft, at least one of said discsfixed to said timer shaft, an oscillating pawl assembly having pawlsadapted to engage said ratchet discs, means operatively connecting saideccentric and said pawls to oscillate said pawls and progressivelyadvance said ratchet'discs and means operatively connecting said timershaft and said clutch control so as-to move said clutch control after apredetermined number of oscillations of said pawls.

2. A timer for controlling the period of operation of a driven shaftcomprising mechanism for driving said shaft, a clutch controloperatively connected to said mechanism adapted to be moved so as tointerrupt the drive to said driven shaft, an eccentric on said drivenshaft, a timer shaft, a plurality of ratchet discs mounted on said timershaft, at least one of'said discs fixed to said timer shaft, anoscillating pawl assembly having pawls adapted to engage said ratchetdiscs, means connectingsaid shaft eccentric and said pawl assembly tointermittently advance said one ratchet'disc and means operativelyconnecting said timer shaft and said clutch control so as to move saidclutch control and interrupt the drive to the driven shaft after apredetermined number of oscillations of said pawls.

3. A timer of the type effecting movement of a control in response to apredetermined number of oscillations of an oscillating driving membercomprising a timer shaft supported for rotating movement, a slow-movingand fast-movin ratchet disc mounted on said shaft, an oscillating pawlcarriage having pawls adapted to enage said ratchet discs, saidslow-moving ratchet disc being fixed to said timer shaft and saidfastmoving ratchet disc being free of said timer shaft, means to connectsaid oscillating driving member to said pawl carriage and progressivelyadvance said ratchet discs, a cam fixed to said timer shaft and anoperative connection between said cam and said control.

4. A timer for effecting movement of a control in response to apredetermined number of oscillations of an oscillating driving membercomprising a timer shaft supported for rotating movement, a slow-movingand fast-moving ratchet disc coaxially mounted on said shaft, anoscillating pawl carriage having pawls adapted to engage said ratchetdiscs, means to connect said oscillating driving member to said pawlcarriage, means to advance said fast-moving ratchet disc upon eachoscillation of the pawl carriage and said slow-moving disc in responseto a number of oscillations of the pawl carriage, a cam fixed to saidtimer shaft and an operativeconnection be-.

tween said cam and said control to move said control in response to apredetermined number of advancing movements of the slow-moving ratchetdisc.

' 5. A timer comprising a supporting plate, spaced bearing ears carriedby said plate, a timer shaft mounted for rotation in said cars, aslowmoving ratchet and a fast-moving ratchet mounted on said timershaft, a cam disc arranged between said ratchet discs, the major portionof the periphery of said cam disc exceeding themaximum diameter of theslowoving ratchet, said cam disc connected to aid fast-moving ratchet soas to rotate therewith, oscillating driving pawls mounted on a pawlcarriage, one of said pawls adapted to engage said fast-moving ratchetand advance the same upon each oscillation of the carriage, another ofsaid pawls arranged to engage the periphery of said cam disc and saidslow-moving ratchet, whereby said last-named pawl is held in aninoperative position with respect to the slowmoving ratchet during themajor portion of the movement of the cam disc.

6. A timer comprising a supporting plate, spaced bearing ears carried bysaid plate, a timer shaft mounted for rotation in said ears, aslow-moving ratchet and a fast-moving ratchet mounted on said timershaft, a cam disc having a notch in its periphery arranged between saidratchet discs, the periphery of said cam disc on each side of said notchexceeding the maximum diameter of the slow-moving ratchet, said cam discconnected to said fastmoving ratchet so as to. be moved thereby, drivingpawls mounted on an oscillating pawl carriage, one of said pawls adaptedto engage said fast-moving ratchet and advance the same one tooth uponeach oscillation of the carriage, another of said pawls arranged toengage the periphery of said cam disc and said slow-moving ratchet,whereby said last-named pawl is held out of engagement with theslow-moving ratchet until the notch of the cam disc is carriedbeneathsaid pawl.

7. A timer comprising a shaft, a ratchet fixed to said shaft, 9. secondratchet freely rotatable on said shaft, a reciprocating pawl carriage, apawl on said carriage engaging said second ratchet, a cam disc rotatedby said second ratchet, a second pawl on said carriage riding on saidcam disc, a notch in said disc adapted to receive said second pawl, saidsecond pawl engaging said first ratchet when in said notch, whereby saidfirst ratchet and shaft are advanced in response to a predeterminednumber of pawl reciprocations and a control operatively connected tosaid shaft and moved thereby.

8. A washing machine clutch timer comprising a shaft, a ratchet fixed tosaid shaft, a second ratchet freely rotatable on said shaft, areciprocating pawl carriage, a pawlon said carriage engaging said secondratchet to advance said second ratchet upon each reciprocation of thepawl carriage, a disc mounted on the shaft between the ratchets adaptedto be turned by said second rachet, a second pawl on said carriageriding on the periphery of said disc, a notch in the periphery of saiddisc adapted to receive said second pawl, said second pawl engaging saidfirst ratchet when in said notch, whereby said first ratchet and shaftare advanced in unison with the second ratchet, in response to a. numberof advancing movements of said second ratchet and a control cam fixed tosaid shaft adapted to operate the washing machine clutch.

9. A timer for controlling the period of operation of a driven shaftcomprising a gear case for supporting said shaft and timer, a clutchcontrol projecting from said gear case to interrupt the drive to saiddriven shaft, an eccentric on said driven shaft, a pair of operativelyconnected rotatable timer elements, pawl means operatively connected tosaid eccentric and said timer elements, to advance said elements uponmovement of said eccentric and driven shaft, said pawl means androtatable timer elements constructed and arranged to rotate one of saidtimer elements a part of a revolution upon each rotational movement ofthe said eccentric and to move said other timer element in response to apre-determined number of movements of said one timer element, meansoperatively connected to said clutchcontrol and said other timer elementwhereby said clutch control is moved by said means in response to apredetermined number of rotational movements of said eccentric. Y

10. A timer for controlling the period of operation of an oscillatingdriven shaft comprising a gear case for supporting said shaft and timer,a clutch control projecting from said gear case and arranged tointerrupt the drive to said driven shaft, an eccentric on said drivenshaft, a pair of operatively connected,. rotatable ratchets, pawlsoperatively connected to said eccentric and said ratchets to advancesaid ratchets upon movement of said eccentric and driven shaft, saidpawls and rotatable ratchets constructed and arranged so as to rotateone of said ratchets a part of a revolution upon each rotationalmovement of the said eccentric and to move said other ratchet inresponse. to a pre-determined number of movements of said one ratchet, acam and link operatively connected to said clutch control and said otherratchet, whereby said clutch control is moved by said cam and link inresponse to a pre-determined number of rotational movements of saideccentric.

GEORGE C. FIELDS.

